NGO News Report :: Dr. Hasan Mahmud inaugurates South Asian Meeting of Civil Society and Parliamentarians on SDG in Kathmandu. Louder South Asian and LDC Voice before Paris Climate Conference. A three-day meeting of South Asian civil society and parliamentarians on SDG and Climate Change is jointly organized by Beyond Copenhagen Collective and Pairvi (Public Advocacy Initiatives for Rights and Values in India) of India in Transnational Justice Institute in Kathmandu.
The inauguration session of the meeting is chaired by Dr Hasan Mahmud, Chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Ministry of Environment and Forest of Bangladesh. Dr. Hasan says during the inauguration, South Asians civil society have to work with politicians to make the LDC (Least Developed Countries) and South Asian voice louder in the CoP (Conference of Parities) 21, the Climate Conference in Paris.
A number of Parliament Members and civil society leaders from India, Nepal and Sri Lanka take part in the meeting. Mr Bijoy Prothap of South Asia Dialogue on Ecological Democracy (SADED), India moderates the inauguration session while Mr Soumya Dutta of Beyond Copenhagen Collective from India speaks.
Mr Bijoy Prothap in his speech emphasizes on mobilizing South Asian leaders to place their own issues to be discussed in the global SDG and Climate Change talks. He adds, almost all the LDC will be the MVC (Most Vulnerable Countries) by Climate Change.
Mr Soumya Dutta of Beyond Copenhagen says, SDG is going to be adopted in next UN General Assembly but there are hardly any debate going on in South Asia on it.
Dr Hasan Mahmud as the Chair of the inauguration session gives importance to the interaction between the civil society and politicians on the topic. He puts examples on how a good inter-government cooperation in South Asia can solve energy scarcity in the sub continent. He mentions how Bhutan has increased per capita income to $4000 by using hydro power and exporting it to India.
Dr. Hasan also mentions how Bangladesh as an LDC could be affected by climate change. He urges civil society of the sub region to work with politicians so that South Asian and LDC voice can be louder in Paris Climate Conference.
